Barista Love
by Beth - Geek Chick
Summary: Stu finds love with a barista, with a little help from Annie and Auggie.
1. Chapter 1

**Quick note on this oneshot. I'd written it over the past week, only because I love writing Stu stories, and I always found it cute when other writers always hooked him up with a barista from Starbucks. And poof, Barista Love is born. First person, alternating between "Jen" the barista and "Stu," our favorite techie.**

* * *

><p><strong>Jen POV<strong>

I can't believe I'm finally here. Not exactly where I pictured myself five years ago, though.

Just one year until I was to graduate Georgetown, I had to pull out. Scraping and saving and applying for whatever grants I could quality for, I'd gotten through three years. But the end fell out, and now I found myself at a loss, in DC, with no money for school and no job.

I did have some unique qualifications, though. I'd wanted to enter government work and applied for security clearances and the like a few months ago. However, without a degree to accompany them, they meant nothing.

Until, that is, I saw an ad for a Starbucks barista. It was located in the CIA NHB, and as such, all baristas needed security clearance. I saw it as a godsend, and after offering up my thanks, I applied.

That was a month ago, and here I am, apron on, fueling government workers with sugar and caffeine. I was getting a lot of education just watching and keeping my eyes and ears open. At first, all my customers were dismissive and tight-lipped. Then as I began to get familiar with the regulars and could recite their favorites, they got friendlier.

I was busy restocking and cleaning the counters after a morning rush when I noticed someone come up to the counter. I nearly tripped over myself hurrying to the counter. I had seen this guy several times already, but I'd yet to learn his name. He'd always come when we were busy, and chatting was impossible.

Now he was the only one in line, and I was determined to make the most of this sitation. I usually tried not to mix work with pleasure, but no one else was here, so a bit of flirting wouldn't hurt, would it?

"Hi."

"Hello."

"What can I do for you?" My subtlety seemed to have worked as his eyes grew wide and his lips curled into a smile. Damn, it wasn't fair that a guy would have such a perfect smile. His white teeth set off perfectly against his brown skin and black hair.

"I'd like a grande café macchiato with a shot of espresso."

"Absolutely. Anything else?" I ask, motioning to the display case of pastries.

"That depends. Did you make them?"

A thrill ran through me at this flirtatious give-and-take. "No," I said. "But I had a scone on my break, and it's delicious."

"I'll have one, then."

I grabbed a cup and marker. I knew it wasn't necessary, as he was my only customer, but how else was I going to get his name? "And who am I making this for?" I asked.

"It's for me. I haven't had time for coffee yet today, so you know."

The flirtation bus skidded to a halt. I refused to let it completely derail, though. "If I write 'me' on here," I said, "anyone can steal your drink."

"Oh, so you need my name?"

"Just following protocol. We are in a government building, you know."

He laughed, and I felt a surge of happiness. Then he spoke, "Stu."

"Nice to meet you, Stu," I said, writing his name in a looping scrawl across the cup. I now had to concentrate on the mixing, and I made sure to make the best damn café macchiato I'd ever made. As an extra, I sculpted a heart on the foam. Hey, no use in going by halves, right?

I sat the cup on the counter in front of him and pulled a scone from the case. When I turned back, he was looking at the drink and smiling.

"Thanks, Jen."

And for once, I didn't mind my nametag. And I'm not gonna lie, hearing him saying my name gave me a bit of the shivers. Too soon, though, I was bagging his scone, and we were exchanging money. Then he was giving me one last smile as he walked away.

**Stu POV**

I walked back to the DPD with a smile on my face, staring down at the heart floating in my coffee. I'd seen the new barista at the Starbucks before, but she'd been busy, and I never got a chance to talk like I had today.

It was – damn, it was nice. She was so pretty, brunette with blue eyes. I'd love to think that her personal touches and smiles were for me personally, but who am I kidding? Baristas were paid to be nice to keep the customers coming back, right?

As I walked into the DPD, my "break" was cut short as Annie waved me over.

"Could you help me, Stu? My e-mail's frozen."

I groaned. "Annie, you know the protocol –"

"Please."

I walked over and sat my drink and bag on her desk and leaned over her computer.

"Just been to Starbucks, huh?" she asked.

"Yep."

"Cute barista working there now, huh?"

"Yep."

"She's got a crush on you."

My fingers slipped off the keyboard. "What?"

Annie pointed at the brown heart floating in the white foam.

"She probably does that for everyone."

Annie said nothing, only shook her head and cocked an eyebrow.

"Tell me you got her number," she finally said.

"No, I mean –"

Annie pushed me away from her computer. "Go now. I'll cover for you."

I literally ran out of the DPD.

**Jen POV**

Well, that was a lovely five minutes. Little steps, I guess. I just didn't want to be so forward that I pushed him away, and then every morning would be awkward.

I sighed and resumed my stocking. I must have been in the zone 'cause I didn't hear anyone approach until he spoke.

"Jen?"

I recognized the voice and stood up so fast, the napkins went flying across the counter. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry," I said, gathering them back up. He helped, as well, and we both froze when our fingers touched on top of one.

Our eyes locked, and I swear it was a movie scene, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Jen?"

"Yeah?" I whispered, not wanting this moment to end.

"Umm, can I –"

He seemed to falter then, and his eyes dropped from mine to our still touching fingers. "Stu?"

"Can I have your number?"

He'd whispered it, but I caught every syllable. Pulling the napkin out from under our fingers, I wrote my full name and cell number on it and slid it back under.

"Call me. Soon."

"I'll do that."

The beaming smile was back and didn't leave his face as he walked away. And yeah, I watched as he went. What can I say? The man looked damn good in a suit.

* * *

><p><strong>So, whaddya think?<strong>

**Hey, take a sec to answer my poll on my profile, if you would?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Stu POV**

I tried not to smile too much as I made my way back to the DPD, but when Annie caught sight of me, I had to let it out, if only for a few seconds. She whispered "Congratulations" to me as I retrieved my coffee and headed back to my desk. I wondered if it'd be too weird to take a pic of the heart dissolving in the top of my foam, but given the fact that I didn't work alone, I knew it'd be too weird.

The napkin was neatly folded and placed in the inside of my suit jacket. Not that I'd ever forget it. After all, numbers were what I knew best.

**Jen POV**

I pretty much floated the rest of the day. Even the grumpy customers got a smile, and when applicable, a smile in their foam. Stu never returned, but I didn't expect him to, not really. He usually only came in the morning.

I wondered if he'd call tonight, or wait the normal 24 to 48 hours that guys did to call? I never quite understood why guys did that. I mean, if you like a girl, just call her, you know?

I was still thinking about it when the end of day came, and I fell alongside the rest of the departing workers. I'd gotten to the glass doors out front and was about to reach for the handle when a long arm reached around me.

"May I?"

I automatically turned to thank the chivalrous person, but my mouth stayed gaping without the words coming out. Stu stood very close to me with the same bright smile on his face. Our proximity startled me a bit, and I swore I could feel my cheeks heating up. "Yes, thanks," I managed to stammer out.

**Stu POV**

A blush? Could this be the same girl who flirted with me over the counter at Starbucks? She regained her composure a few seconds later, and we naturally fell into step beside each other as we walked to the parking lot. It seemed as though we parked close to each other without even noticing it. Walking so close without talking, though, seemed to be a bit awkward, so I said, "Headed home?"

Yeah, sure, Stu, that didn't sound too dorky, I said with a mental head slap. Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice, and the corner of her mouth smirked up at the corners.

"Yeah, I gotta check my cell, make sure it's charged. I'm expecting a call from someone."

The smile, the hopeful look in her eyes. Yeah, the message was clear, and I was glad for it. I'd held myself back all day from taking another trip down to the food court. And I also wondered when she expected me to call. Now I know.

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me, I gotta input a new number to my contacts and try it out. You know, make sure it works."

Another few feet, and she stopped at a silver car. "This is me."

The walk was way too short for my tastes, but I'll definitely be talking to her later, so it didn't matter too much.

**Jen POV**

In the safe confines of my car, I let out the nervous breath I seemed to have held the entire time we walked through the parking lot. And I was able to watch him walk away toward his own vehicle until he was out of sight. I wonder what he'd look like in a pair of jeans.

On the drive home, I contemplated on my love life, or lack of it, however you looked at it. I'd always been more interested in relationships than one-night stands or hooking up. So in my young life, at 22, I'd had exactly three boyfriends. One clichéd one in high school, who of course, I envisioned marrying, but then we graduated and went off to different colleges, and that was that. Then my freshman year in college, who I'd broken up with when I realized I was heavy on the rebound from my first love.

Then just a year later, I met a really nice guy, but of course, he was an exchange student, and though we had a wonderful time together, there was the inevitable tearful good-bye. I sighed at the futility of it all. I hoped Stu was a more permanent fixture.

**Stu POV**

A few hours after I made it home, and it was time. I'd wanted to get my normal routine done so I'd have more than ample time to talk with Jen. I took in the gym, had dinner, picked up after myself and got a few more domestic things out of the way.

Then, with a beer and my cellphone in hand, I punched in the magic digits. And waited.

For a few seconds, I wondered if I had gotten the number right, or maybe I had waited too long. Did she give up on me and go out, or –

After the fifth ring, she picked up.

"Hello?"

Now, that was the most confusing hello I'd ever heard. It sounded like she was out of breath, crying and upset all rolled into one.

"Hello, Jen? It's Stu."

"Stu, hey. How are you?"

"I'm fine, but you don't sound good. What's going on?"

"Oh, I don't want to bother you with my problems, not on our first call."

"Jen, spill it."

I heard her chuckle a bit, then take a deep breath. "Okay, but when I got home, I found out that my roommate up and left me."

"Your roommate?" I asked.

"Yeah, just a girl I'd met about six months ago. We wanted to live off campus and took an apartment together. I thought we were friends, but I guess not as good a friends as I'd like. She took some of my DVDs, too."

"Ouch, sorry about that," I said. "Wait, you said campus? So you're in college?"

"I was, until I ran out of money. I'm trying to earn enough for my last year. Now I can't even do that. On top of everything, my landlord saw my roommate leaving, and since she was on the lease, now he's saying I've defaulted, and he's threatening to kick me out."

"What? Can he do that?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry, Stu. You don't need to hear all of this. Tell me about your day."

"No, no," I said. "You've got too much on your plate for just chatting."

"Yeah, like trying to find a new place to live."

"Anything I can do?" I asked.

She laughed and asked, "Yeah, you can find me somewhere to crash for the next year."

"Okay," I said, surprising even myself. Did I just –

"Did you just – I didn't mean that you have to help me, Stu. I can just put an ad in the paper or something."

The idea of her having a stranger come and live with her – or worse, her living with them – sounded extremely dangerous in my mind. "So you'd rather trust yourself and your stuff to a stranger than to me?"

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess not. But really, you don't –"

"Jen," I interrupted, "I know we just met, but I do like you, and I don't want to have say hello and good-bye in our first phone call."

She didn't answer, and I could hear a deep sigh on the other end of the call. I put together a quick plan. "I'll talk to my landlord and have your name added to the lease. It's a two-bedroom apartment, anyway. The whole building is. I'm the only one by myself. We can even whip up a roommate agreement, if you want."

"But we hardly know each other."

"How well did you know your last roommate?" I countered.

"Huh, I see your point."

"How much longer do you have on your lease?"

"Well, my landlord has already threatened to kick me out at the end of the month if I don't get another roommate, or fork over the entire month's rent."

I glanced a look at the calendar. "So two weeks, then?"

"Yep."

And that was that. I laid back on the couch and took a long swig of my beer. "Wow, so roomies, then?"

"Yeah, how about that?"

"Not what I expected when I called," I said, laughing. "So, what now?"

"Well, maybe we could get to know each other over the next couple of weeks?"

"Sounds good. What do you want to know?"

"What's your last name?"

I nearly choked on my mouthful of beer with laughter. "Heatherton. My name is Stuart Ahmed Heatherton."

"Nice to meet you, Stu. I'm Jennifer Rene Shaw."

* * *

><p><strong>AN Hi! Yeah, I know, I know. More Stu, Beth? I can't help it! Little Miss Muse has a mad crush on the man and won't let him wither on the vine.**

**I've got more planned for this. Not a big, epic story, but just sweet little romance, which is what I do, ya know?**

**If you've read this far, thanks! I got an idea for A&A story. Sort of a "you pick what happens next" kind of thing. So, send me your ideas for an A&A romance/adventure, and we'll see where it goes from there.**

**Thanks!**

**-Beth**


	3. Chapter 3

**Stu POV**

A couple of days later, I sat at my desk finishing up the paperwork required to announce my acquiring a roommate. As I sent the information to Auggie, with a cc to Joan Campbell, I had to chuckle. What other job in the world required you to provide details of each and every person you came into more than passing contact with?

An hour later, it was apparent that Auggie had gotten my e-mail, as he asked me to follow him into a conference room. As the form that I filled out was pretty inclusive, I wasn't sure what else he needed to know.

"What's this about, Aug?"

"Stu, I know I don't have to quote agency rules at you, but you do realize the need to keep covert status, right?"

"Yeah, Aug, I do."

He ran one hand through his hair and shook his head. "Having friends on the outside is one thing, but suddenly getting a roommate? I'm just wondering –"

I stopped him right then and there. "There's nothing to worry about, Auggie. She knows."

"What? You mean, you –" It almost looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head.

"No, Auggie. I love you like a brother, seriously, but you need to calm down. She knows because she works in the building. Meaning she's already gotten security clearance."

That stopped his rant. "Really? I didn't recognize her name."

"She's a barista. At the Starbucks," I said.

"Your new roommate is a barista?"

"Yes. Her roommate flaked out on her, so I offered my spare bedroom." My annoyance at my boss' unneded third degree began to wear on my nerves. "Is that all you needed to know?"

"Yeah, sure."

We both left the room, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that he didn't go directly to his office. He headed through the bullpen and out of the department. Oh, no, he wouldn't, would he? I sighed and began to follow. Only one way to find out.

**Jen POV**

Now that my living arrangements were working themselves out, I felt a bit more at ease, in general. It still irked me that my roommate left, but then again, if she hadn't, I wouldn't be moving in with Stu. God, just saying that out loud made me smile.

And he was right, even if I did find another roommate, it'd be someone I didn't know, and who knows what'd happen? Not that I knew Stu all that better, but somehow, I trusted him. And I liked him. And, well, he wasn't bad to look at, either. Which, of course, brought me back to the beginning of the circle. I was moving in with Stu.

I physically and mentally shook all those warring thoughts out of my head. First thing's first. I'd move in, and then we'll figure out whether or not we'd just be roomies or "roomies."

Thankfully, I got a customer right about then. "Hi, what can I get you?"

"Chai latte, please."

I'd seen this guy here before. It was hard to miss him. Tall, dark curly hair, bright smile and unseeing eyes. His name, though, escaped me at the moment. I decided to just go ahead and make his drink.

"Jen, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"I hear you make the best drinks in town."

"Well, I try."

**Stu POV**

Yeah, I know I shouldn't be spying on my boss, but though as well-meaning and over-protective as I know he is, I also didn't want him to scare Jen off with a third degree. As I got closer to where he stood, I could see it – the look on his face, the smile, and his words. WTF, man? He was flirting with her? No way in hell.

"Hey, Jen!" I said, sauntering up as nonchalantly as I could next to Auggie.

"Stu, hey. I'll get your latte in a minute, okay?"

I nodded and gave her a small wink, to which she blushed and ducked her head. "Auggie, imagine seeing you here. If I'd known you were coming, I'd ask you to pick my coffee up for me."

"Funny."

I shrugged. I thought so, too. After making sure Jen was occupied working, I lowered my voice. "Don't waste any time, do you?"

"Just making sure."

"Of what? That she was good enough for me?"

"To be truthful? Yeah."

"Huh, I don't know if I should be insulted or complimented," I said, leaving a faint trace of sarcasm in my voice.

"It was a compliment, believe me," he said. "So Jen, Stu told me the good news."

"Hmm?"

She turned with Aug's Chai latte in her hand, a somewhat apprehensive look on her face. I nodded and said, "Auggie's my boss. I had to tell him."

"Oh, okay."

"And now that you two have met, I'm sure Auggie's got more important things to do," I said, pointedly.

"That I do. See you in about half an hour?" he said, grabbing up his drink and walking away.

When I turned back to Jen, she was standing there, leaning against the counter. "I know you only drink one latte a day, in the morning, so I take it you aren't here for refreshment," she said.

I shook my head and leant on the counter, as well. "Auggie's more protective than my own mother at times. He knew I lived alone and haven't been seeing anyone, so when I put in the change of domicile report, he got –"

"Nosy?"

I laughed aloud. "I would've put it differently, 'cause he's really a good guy, but yeah, nosy. I had to tell him who you were, Jen. But don't worry, I won't be broadcasting to everyone. And I'll make sure he keeps it to himself, as well."

"Oh, okay."

Her response surprised me. She seemed upset. "Is that okay? It's what I figured you'd want."

"It doesn't really matter to me, Stu. I mean –"

"You know what," I said, raising a hand to interrupt her, "Let's not argue about it now. How about, after work, you come over, and we'll figure all this out then."

She took a breath and nodded, and I wondered if she wasn't having second thoughts. What I'd really wanted to do was for both of us to sit down and having the deep discussion I knew we needed, but it wasn't even noon yet.

"Hey," I whispered, and waited for her eyes to meet mine. "We can make this work."

**Jen POV**

Damn, why did he have to have eyes like that? But I had to admit, it worked. The sudden appearance of his boss and hearing their conversation that they tried to whisper kind of weirded me out, but the way he looked at me now, so close, so sincere. I really had no reason not to believe that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Ehh, not as good as I'd like it to be, but I'm dealing with a lot of crap, work and life-wise, more than usual, and I had to push myself to get something done here. Just trying to keep moving forward and hope things get better. Just wish I had somebody who could whisper "everything's gonna be okay" don't you?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Jen POV**

After work, I followed Stu, each of us in our own cars, to his apartment. The building had underground parking, and each apartment was allotted two spaces. Growing up with just the basics, I found this to be opulent, and we hadn't even gotten out of the garage yet. I tried not to be too wide-eyed, though. There'd be time to gawk and gush and fawn later – when I was alone.

One quiet elevator ride up to the third floor and down a hallway, and we were there. Apartment 304. Again, as he opened the door, the urge to gawk came over me. Apartment? He called this an apartment? Any previous apartment or dorm suite were a quarter of the size of the place I was walking into now.

"So, this is the main area," Stu said, walking through turning on lights and picking up articles of clothing and the odd magazine he had laying out. All in all, though, he was a pretty neat and orderly guy. I didn't want to see what he was trying to keep away from my eyes, though. I mean, he's a guy, right? And single guys usually have questionable magazines lying around.

"Kitchen's there," he said, pointing across the room to an open counter I could see. "Bedrooms are through here," he said, walking down through a short hallway. I followed, my eyes taking in everything.

And really, what I saw, I liked. His style was more of a lack of style. It was clean, modern, almost utilitarian without a lot of clutter. What he did have filled a wall of shelves.

"Here's your bedroom," he said, coming to a door and opening it, waving me inside. "I mean, if you still want to move in."

Did I? The bedroom was already furnished – thank God. A decent-sized bed, dresser and night stand in shining wood. He even had sheets, a blanket and a pillow laid out. "Was someone using this?" I asked.

"Umm –" he stuttered, a slight blush coming to his tanned cheeks as he averted his gaze from me. "No, I just cleaned up a little, you know, in case. This place was full of boxes."

His sincerity and thoughtfulness touched me, and I reached out to his shoulder, giving it a small pat. "Thanks. I don't have any furniture to my name, so this'll come in handy."

"So your old apartment –"

"Came furnished," I finished for him. "As did the dorms before that, and my parents' house before that. So, if you think about it, this'll be a good step towards actual adulthood."

He smiled at my joke, and we walked back out into the hallway. Another door stood a few feet away, and I looked pointedly at it. "What's through there?"

"That's my room," he said, not making any type of motion to show it to me. Not that I needed to see it, of course. And when I did move in, I'd see it eventually.

**Stu POV**

Geez, I thought, you'd think I'd never had a girlfriend before. I knew my ears were red, just cause I could feel the heat. But I was able to control my breathing enough that my words came out smoother. I mentally patted myself on the back for straightening up this morning.

I'm glad she didn't mind me fixing up her bedroom. I had been using it for storage, so it needed cleared out, but after I cleared, I cleaned, and I bought new sheets and pillowcases and a comforter. The bed wasn't too huge, just a full size that I had for guests and family. The night stand and dresser came as a set with the headboard.

So no, I didn't do too much in terms of going overboard for Jen's arrival. Yeah, right. Had it been a guy, they'd be lucky if I swept the floor. For Jen, I wanted to make a good impression, and by the look on her face, it seems I had.

"So, what do you think?" I asked.

"It's perfect," she said, bouncing on her feet a little. "So, the rest of the place?"

My bedroom door was behind me, but I wasn't sure if she was referring to that, or the bathroom. I chickened out and said, "We've only got one bathroom, but it's pretty large, as you can see."

"Looks good," she said, taking a cursory glance inside. "So, where do you sleep?"

"In my bedroom."

"Can I –"

"You want to see inside my bedroom?" I asked. Damn, I couldn't remember whether or not I'd gotten around to making my bed that morning or if I had actually hit the hamper with my clothes. "Maybe later?" I hedged. "I thought we could go over a few things first?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," she said, turning around and walking back down the hallway. I followed, motioning her over to the dining table. "I've got the lease here, if you want to look over it," I said.

While she did, I grabbed the rest of the documents I'd put together the past couple of days.

**Jen POV**

The lease looked to be the same kind of legalese my own consisted of, but I tried to read it, anyway. I looked from the paper after a few minutes to see Stu sitting there with more pieces of paper and a legal pad. "What's all this?"

"Well, we talked about a roommate agreement, so I put together a few things that we could go over," he said.

I had thought he was joking about that at the time, but I see now that he wasn't. "Umm, okay. I guess it's the normal thing to do, then, right?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. I've never had a roommate before, but isn't it better to have all expectations laid out, so there's no misunderstandings?"

I could see his point, but I just hoped he wasn't this anal when it came to what we'd have for dinner, or who gets to use the bathroom first in the morning. "Sure, what have you got?"

Over the next half-hour, we talked and haggled our way through the list. Though I was desperate for a place to live and hadn't really looked for another apartment, I wanted to show that I wasn't a pushover and expected things, as well.

He said he'd put together something for us both to sign, and I agreed, then sat back in the chair. My somber mood seemed to be showing on my face, because he asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Not really. It's just – kind of clinical, you know? When I gave you my number a few days ago, I figured we'd, well, we'd be dating by now," I said.

"Who says we can't?"

That question came with that smile, but I tried not to let myself be so affected by it. "I don't see a provision for that here," I said, pointing to the legal pad where he'd made all of the agreement points.

"Want to put one in as an addendum?"

He laughed a bit, but I was pretty serious. All this was pretty new for me, and I wasn't quite sure what I was diving head-long into.

"I'm joking, Jen," he said, laying down his pen and paper and leaning across the table towards me. "Of course, I'm still interested in you, but don't you think we should be friends first and see where it goes from there?"

His eyes pleaded at me, and I couldn't help but give in. "So, what you're proposing is friendship with the option of romance?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Want to add it to the agreement?" he asked.

It sounded so ridiculous and silly, but I found myself saying, "Why not?"

**A week and a half later…**

**Still Jen POV**

Finally, the weekend of the big move arrived. I'd had my stuff – what there was of it – packed for a couple of days already. My soon-to-be-former landlord looked more than happy to see me go, and even had prospective future tenants look around the place the past week. I am going to be so happy when he's out of my life.

Careful packing and stuffing had all of my things fitted into my car for one big trip to Stu's – no, make that our apartment. God, just saying that, you know? The past two weeks have been pretty surreal, but soon, I was parking my car in my alloted spot next to his and heading up in the elevator, one suitcase in hand. I figure with his help, we could get everything up there in a couple of trips. At least it had an elevator, right?

**Stu POV**

The knock on the door Saturday morning signified the beginning of my officially having a roommate. I'd always balked at wanting one in the past, 'cause my own experience with them in college were not great. Besides, this wasn't just a random roommate. This was Jen, the beautiful barista from Starbucks that I'd been fantasizing about for the past few months.

As I thought about our situation, it really beat going the traditional route of dates and getting to know each other and sorting our compatibility and things. She may have thought I was joking when we both signed off on the "friendship with possibility of romance" addendum of the roommate agreement, but it sounded like the best possible way of getting close to her, in my opinion. Huh, maybe I've been working with numbers and computers for too long.

One final look around, and I made my way to the door. "Come on in, roomie," I said.

"Thanks," she said, lugging a large suitcase in.

"Please tell me you own more than that," I said with a laugh, deftly taking it from her fingers and heading towards her bedroom.

"Oh, no. My car's full of two more suitcases and a few boxes, if you wouldn't mind helping me bring them up?"

"Lead the way," I said, after depositing the suitcase just inside the door.

Two hours later, we were both a bit exhausted and out of breath and relaxing on the couch. The elevator helped, but Jen seemed to have an affinity for books and DVDs and collectibles.

I'd called in for pizza, knowing neither of us would be up to cooking at this point, and we were waiting the requisite half hour for delivery. "So, I guess I could clear a shelf or two out for your stuff, if you want."

"A shelf or two?" she asked with a laugh. "Your entire wall is covered in shelves. I'd say as a fully paying resident of this apartment, I warrant more than a couple of shelves."

"Okay, okay," I said, laughing along with her. "Oh, that reminds me. I forgot to give you the rundown of what your portion of the rent would be."

"Yeah, that'd be nice to have," she replied. "Wouldn't want people to think I'm mooching off of you."

I dug up the budget for her and handed it to her, trying my hardest not to look her directly in the eyes. It looked as if she could figure out if someone was lying straight off, and I didn't want her to question the number I'd just handed her.

"So, as you can see, or probably figure out, all utilities, except phone, of course, are included in the rent total. The landlord prefers one payment per apartment, no matter who all's living here, so if you'd just want to pay me, I'll continue paying the rent."

Yeah, that'll do for an excuse. The phone probably wouldn't be a problem. She's got her own iPhone, so I know she wouldn't have any use for the landline. The rent number, however, was something I'd slightly fibbed on. Instead of giving her a number that represented half of the rent, I was only charging her a third. I told myself I had been paying the whole thing, no problem, for a few years now, anyway. And given her situation, I'd gladly let her live here rent-free and let her save for her last year at the university.

But something told me she wouldn't go for that. She looked to be the type of woman that liked to be self-sufficient and independent. "So, what do you think?"

"Well, it's less than my old apartment, so I really can't complain, right?" she asked, handing the paper back to me.

"That's good, then, right? You can put more away for your last year of college," I pointed out.

"Yep. And it's all thanks to you, Stu," she said, scooting closer to me. "I know you didn't have to do any of this. I can't thank you enough."

I was about to push her adulation away, saying think nothing of it or something along those lines, but I was struck dumb in the next couple of seconds. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed, giving me a slightly awkward hug that I wasn't sure how to reciprocate. She didn't let go after a couple of seconds, so I responded by wrapping my arms around her and returning the embrace. Hey, I didn't want to leave her hanging, right?

At least that's what I told myself when the scent of her shampoo wafted from her hair that was so close to my face. Some kind of flower, I knew, but before I could take another deeper inhale, a loud knock at the door broke us apart.

We both looked at the door, then looked back to the other, still sitting so close and slightly flummoxed. She had the same blush on her cheeks when I'd flirted with her at the Starbucks, and I was pretty darn sure I was smiling. It was hard not to around her, especially if she was going to smell so damn good.

"So, I guess that's the pizza," I said, clearing my suddenly thick voice. Before she could reply or even offer to pay for half, I headed to the door, fishing my wallet out of my back pocket.

I so wanted to take it slow with her, make her feel at home and at ease before the "possible romance" addendum of the agreement came into any kind of play. But if she kept thanking me with physical contact and warm smiles, that idea may go totally out of the window.

Maybe I could ask Auggie for his opinion, I thought, as I opened the door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Thanks for everyone's response to this. I'm enjoying getting a little more Stu time in. I'm basing the apartment a bit off of the guys' layout in Big Bang Theory.**

**Still trying to think of something re: A&A new story. All I've got going is this and a story about The Secret Garden book. With the way they left A&A at end of season 2, it's kind of difficult to think of anything that hasn't already been written.**

**Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Stu POV**

Monday morning, I'd held off on my normal trip for coffee until I saw a certain blonde walk in that I owed a favor to. After waiting for a good 15 minutes, I watched as Annie made her way into the bullpen and walked out to greet her. "Hey, Annie."

"Stu, hi," she said with a smile.

"If you haven't gotten your coffee yet today, I'd like to treat you," I said.

"Treat me? For what?" she asked, slightly perplexed.

I leaned closer to her, wary of the eavesdropping ears of the rest of the department. "For, you know, Jen."

"Oh, the girl at Starbucks?"

I nodded, and she almost jumped in her seat and clapped her hands together. "I've been out of the office for a while, so you'll have to catch me up. How's it going with you two?"

I tried not to laugh, really I did, while I said, "She moved in two days ago."

Her hands stilled, her eyes bugged, and her mouth dropped out. Yep, I'll carry that memory with me for a while. "What? Stu, it's – it's only been two weeks, right? What the –"

I held my hand up to stop her. "Tell you what, why don't you come with me for the coffee? I'd like to introduce you two, and I can explain more about what happened."

She jumped out of her chair and took me by the elbow. I wondered at the motion, but figured she must be used to walking with Auggie and did it out of habit. "Okay," she said, once we cleared the department and hit the hallway. "Spill it."

Not too many people were around, so I was able to talk pretty freely. "I got her number, called her that night. She was, I don't know, flummoxed, upset, the whole works. Seems her roommate had flaked out on her, and her landlord was threatening her with eviction."

"Okay, got it, but that –"

"I'm not done yet. I didn't want to just hang up or say, you know, it's nice to talk to you, so I offered my spare bedroom."

"Wow."

That's it, that was her entire response to my very weird living situation now. "I know, it's out of the ordinary, but we really do get along well. And I didn't want to think of her putting an ad in Craiglist for a new roommate. I mean, have you heard the news stories?"

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," she said. "It's just, I was expecting you to say you'd gone on a few dates, and things looks promising, you know, stuff like that."

"Yeah, you weren't the only one," I said under my breath. Louder, I said, "So we've decided to just take it easy on the romance part and be friends."

I could feel Annie's eyes on me, and I turned to see a look of complete disbelief in her eyes. "What?"

"Do you think you can just be friends?" she asked.

"Sure, why not?" I said, trying to put a bit of emphasis on my words, simply because I wasn't sure I could, truth be told. It'd only been two days since Jen showed up with her suitcases and boxes, but already, I could tell it was going to be difficult staying "just friends." Especially when she emerged from the bathroom after a shower clad in a pink robe and wafting that floral scent behind her.

"Stu?"

I looked over at Annie and realized we had come to a stop in front of our destination. And the object of my daydreaming was just a few feet away, preparing drinks.

**Jen POV**

I could always tell it was a Monday here, even if I didn't have a calendar. It seemed people required a larger dose of caffeine on Monday mornings. There were more orders with espresso shots and less requests for chai teas. No matter, though. It kept me busy and kept my thoughts away from my current predicament.

The whole process of moving in with Stu was pretty much do this, do that, time constraints, changing of address and so on and so forth. It wasn't until Saturday night when the realization came to me that, oh, wow, I'm living with Stu Heatherton. I mean, sure, I'd had roommates for the past few years now, people I knew, didn't know all that well. But none of them were guys, and none of them were good-looking ones I'd had a crush on for months.

So I was grateful, actually, for Monday to come, and I could concentrate on my work while trying to get my emotions in order. And, of course, that'd be easier said than done if my roommate didn't work in the same building. As I turned to deliver my latest concoction to my customer, I saw him standing next in line. An automatic smile came to my face, which he returned.

"Hey, Jen."

"Hi. The usual for this morning?" I asked, automatically reaching for a cup.

"Yep, and I'm paying for whatever Annie wants," he said, motioning to the blonde woman standing next to him. I ran through my customer memory and remember the name, her face, and also the fact that she often came here with Stu's boss, Auggie.

"Venti Mocha frappuccino, please," Annie said.

"Okay," I said, grabbing up two cups and writing the orders on them. I didn't want to press as to why Stu was buying Annie coffee, 'cause well, it was none of my business, but –

"Annie here is responsible for our current living arrangements," Stu said, answering my unasked question, but also creating a whole bunch of other ones.

"Okay," I said with half a laugh. "I take it she was the one who asked my old roommate to leave town?"

Annie laughed, "No, I just gave Stu a little moral support a couple of weeks ago, if you know what I mean."

Ahh, so that was it. I'd wondered why at the time and really, since then, why Stu had come running back to ask for my phone number. It seems we had a little matchmaker cupid batting for our side. "Yeah, I do know what you mean, so thank you."

I concentrated then on preparing the drinks, and for Stu, sculpted a winking smiley face into the foam. It was kind of tricky, but I'd recently mastered the technique. "Here you go," I said, sliding over the drinks and accepting Stu's payment. I'd love to provide his drinks free, but I'm sure my manager would have something to say about that. While ringing up the order, I saw Annie lean over and look into Stu's drink.

"Aww, that's cute," she said.

"Thanks. I'm a frustrated foam artist, you know," I quipped. "Just working at Starbucks to pay the bills."

Stu laughed aloud at the joke, and it sounded so nice, I knew the rest of my day would be infinitely better with the memory now in my mind.

"It was nice meeting you, Jen," Annie said, picking up her drink and turning away.

"Nice meeting you, too, Annie. Come again," I replied.

"See you tonight?" Stu said low, leaning across the counter.

"Of course. You're cooking dinner, right?" I asked. "It's Monday, you know, and according to our agreement –"

"Yes, I'll cook," he said. "What are your ideas about hot dogs and mac and cheese?"

"Ugh. Are you serious?" I asked.

"Well, if you wanted lobster and fettucine, you should've been more specific in the agreement," he said with a wink, before walking away.

**Stu POV**

Heh, heh. The look on Jen's face at the mention of hot dogs and mac and cheese was priceless. Almost had me wondering if there was a way to make either of them and make it gourmet. It'd be worth the smile on her face if I could swing it.

"Oh, Stu, you've really got it bad."

I turned my head over to Annie, who was walking beside me, shaking her head. "What do you mean?"

"Just, be careful, okay? Jen seems like a really nice girl, and I like you too much to see you go overboard like this."

"Like what?" I asked.

"You look like a kid in a candy store right now," she said. "You haven't stopped smiling for ten minutes, you know."

"You'd rather I frown?" I asked.

"No, I'd rather my friends take it easy and not get hurt," she said with a hand to my arm.

"It's fine, Annie. But thanks for your concern," I replied, thankful that we'd reached our department. I knew Annie meant well, but Jen and I were getting along so well, I really didn't want to jeopardize anything by pushing too hard or pulling away.

I left her at her desk and headed into Tech Ops.

"Mm, seems like someone made a trip to Starbucks without checking to see if his co-workers wanted anything."

"Hey, Auggie. You weren't here when I went," I explained.

He didn't reply, but merely cocked his head at me. I knew that look. He was thinking hard, contemplating something. "You sound happy."

"Really? I don't usually sound happy?"

"No, you do, I mean, you sound a lot happier than you normally do," he said. "I take it our favorite barista has something to do with that?"

Geez, I thought. I'm going to have to work on my demeanor and facial expressions around my spy co-workers. "Jen and I are fine," I explained. "She moved in Saturday, and we're settling in nicely."

I really hoped he'd leave it at that and let me return to work, but he got up from his desk and followed me to mine. "So, things are cool between you two?" he asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't things be cool?" I asked, trying hard to hold onto the good mood my trip to Starbucks had created.

He seemed to take notice of my slight change of mood, 'cause he held up his hands in defense. "I'm not saying they shouldn't be. It's just – I could tell that you really like this girl, and moving in within two weeks of getting her number is, you know, rushing things, don't you think?"

"Aug, I told Annie, and now I'm telling you. Jen and I have already talked about this, and we're happy to remain friends now, just for the sake of living in peace together, okay?" I explained.

"Yeah, Stu, sounds great. I'm just concerned about you, is all, and I'm glad Annie is, too. If you need somebody to talk to –"

I nodded and took a deep breath to calm down, "I'll give you a call."

* * *

><p><strong>AN So, what do you think?**


	6. Chapter 6

FF seems to have a couple malfunctions w/ no alert e-mails and no traffic counts, so here's hoping someone saw this on the CA site and is reading it.

* * *

><p>Stu POV<p>

"Jen, I'm home!" I shouted as I came in through the door, my arms bulging with shopping bags. I kicked the door shut and headed for the dining table, dumping everything down and hoping the bread didn't get squished.

"Hey, I'm here," she said, trotting out of her bedroom and down the hallway. "Mmm, what'd you get us?" she asked, grabbing one of the bags and diving into it.

"Everything on your list, don't worry," I said. And what a list it was. The girl took healthy eating to the extreme, and I had a hard time discerning the difference between multigrain bread and 12-grain bread. I mean, both of them were the same thing, right?

It's a good thing I didn't follow through with my joke of making us hot dogs and macaroni and cheese earlier in the week. The pasta she didn't have a problem with, but that night, I got a lecture on what actually goes into hot dogs, and suffice to say, I'll never eat one again.

While we put the groceries in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, I asked, "So, what'd you get up to this morning?"

"Well, you left before I woke up, so I had to kind of fend for myself," she said, hopping up on the counter, a bunch of grapes in one hand. "I usually do my laundry on the weekends, but you didn't tell me where the facilities were."

"Oh, damn," I said, shutting the fridge door and turning back to her. "Sorry about that. It's downstairs –"

"In the basement, I know," she said, popping a grape in her mouth. I leaned on the counter next to her, grabbing a grape out of the bunch she had in her hand. Her outfit on the weekends, I now see, consisted of yoga pants and t-shirts, and she had something against wearing any kind of shoes while indoors. I'd truly never met anyone as low-key and down to earth.

"By the way," she said, "I met one of our neighbors. He showed me where the washers and dryers were and where we put the garbage."

"He?" I asked, my eyes watering a bit from a sour grape. "Which he?"

"Johnny, I think he said his name was. He lives up on the fourth floor with a friend of his, Jim. Did you know they teach at Georgetown?" she said.

"No, never really met many of my neighbors personally," I said. Swallowing my jealousy with the sour grape, I said, "So, Georgetown? That's where you're going to school?"

"Yep, but I never saw them there. They teach physics or something like that. My major is Government Studies," she said.

"Really?"

"Yep, with a minor in Computer Science," she said, the corner of her mouth angling up. "I bet that was your major, right?"

"Yes, it was."

"Ha ha, I knew it. So, if I need some help with my homework, you'd be willing to tutor me?" she asked.

I popped another grape in my mouth and looked her over with a more discerning eye. The thought of "tutoring" Jen seemed like a dream come true. I could picture us, sitting close and poring over books and computers. I don't know why I hadn't asked before what her goals were, but now that I knew them, as crazy as it sounds, she almost looked like the perfect woman, even though she was now sitting on my kitchen countertop, barefoot, hair loose and around her shoulders.

"I don't know," I said, stealing another grape. "I can be a pretty harsh taskmaster."

She plucked the grape out of my fingers and put it in her own mouth. "I doubt that. You, Stuart Heatherton, are a big teddy bear."

I wondered if she knew just how much her light-hearted banter was affecting me, deep down. I mean, let's face it. Computer geeks who spent their days bent over equipment and who got more excited by things than people rarely got the hot girls. The few girlfriends I've had were almost carbon copies of myself, and seriously, who wants to date themselves?

Jen, on the other hand, seemed to be my polar opposite in a lot of different areas, but we agreed on enough things that we didn't try to kill each other or argue over everything.

Before I had a chance to respond to the "teddy bear" comment, she hopped back off the counter and finished putting her groceries away. I stayed where I was, watching her.

Jen POV

As much as I enjoyed meeting Johnny downstairs, even with his overly friendly talking, he really had nothing on the guy watching me a few feet away. I can't believe I told him he reminded me of a teddy bear. It's only because I'd had a recurring daydream of cuddling up in his arms. Our one hug was really nice, but I'd made sure to keep my distance since then.

Not 'cause I didn't want to, but I really needed a place to stay and didn't want to weird him out or freak him out by grabbing onto him whenever the urge overtook me. No, I had a better plan in mind. I'd wait until we got more settled in, and then I'd jump his bones.

The thought made me chuckle, but I resumed putting the rest of the food away. It seemed he did his best to pick up what I'd asked. Some items weren't exact, but really, the thought was there.

"So, what's my portion of the food come to?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I left the receipt in the car. Don't usually pay attention to that stuff."

"You don't budget?" I asked.

He shrugged and walked over to the couch, dropping down onto it. I couldn't believe that. "Seriously?"

"I don't eat much, and there's enough left at the end of the month to go into savings, Jen."

He was evading the issue, I could tell, but I decided to let it go. Money issues were never really something we talked about. With a sigh, I decided to slide into a safer topic of conversation. "So, I was thinking of unpacking some of my boxes this weekend. I didn't get a chance to yet."

"Okay."

"So, would you mind?"

"Would I mind what? You need a hand moving them?"

"No, I need a space to put them," I said. "Could you clear out a shelf or two?" I asked, motioning to his wall of shelves that were currently stuffed full.

"Oh, I guess so," he said, frowning a bit.

"You guess so? You promised me some space, remember?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. "If I'm paying half the rent and utilities, I deserve half of that space, but really, my stuff would only fill a couple shelves."

Stu POV

Actually, her portion of the rent and utilities would only cover a couple of the shelves, but she wasn't to know that. Moving my stuff presented something of a problem, though. I'd arranged things just so, and emptying a couple of shelves would throw off my system.

I sat there wondering what I could do, but apparently, I hadn't moved fast enough, 'cause Jen huffed, turned on the heel of her bare foot and walked over to my wall. Before I could stop her, she began removing books.

"Wait a minute!" I said, jumping up. "They're organized, you can't just move stuff around."

I took the books she'd removed out of her hands and replaced them. "Why don't you just bring your box out, and we'll figure out where they can fit?"

She stepped back and crossed her arms across her chest. "Why don't you just clear off a couple of shelves, and then I'll bring my stuff out and put them in?" she countered.

We were at an impasse, and I realized, having our first fight. I refused to back down, though, and leaned against the shelves, assuming her pose of arms across my chest. "Since I've got more stuff, don't you think I have preference over shelf space?"

Her mouth dropped open, and a look of disbelief crossed her face. I stubbornly refused to back down, however. She had a right to some space, but I also had a right to keep my stuff the way I liked it, correct?

My mind was formulating how to phrase that without sounding stubborn or uncaring of her wants, but it seemed Jen had a different argument in mind. Her arms dropped to her sides, and her face softened. With a smile on her face, she sauntered – yes, sauntered – over to me. She didn't stop until her body was within an inch of mine.

My argument died in my mind and on my tongue as one of her hands raised and glided along my forearm. "I know your system is important to you, Stu."

She whispered it, and along with her soft touch on my arm, I was almost wanting to forego my previous argument.

"But I live here, too, now. We share everything else, why can't you give me some shelf space?"

Because – because – damn, I had an argument, didn't I? I had a reason why I didn't want to upset my organizational system, now what was it? I didn't have time to reason this out, though, 'cause her hand moved from my arm up to my face, and her fingers grazed along my jaw. I swallowed convulsively.

"I guess I can clear a couple shelves," I found myself saying, all of my previous arguments being pushed aside by the realization of her nearness, her soft touch and soft voice, and the way her eyes looked right through me.

"Great!" she said, suddenly dropping her hand and taking a step back. "Why don't you do that, and I'll go unpack my boxes."

Before she could turn completely around in her retreat, my hand reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to me. "That was underhanded," I said, trying to reign in the emotions that suddenly jumped through me. Then, before she could get away again, I dropped my mouth to hers.

It was only a couple of seconds worth of kiss before I pulled away. And was only meant as a payback for flirting with me in order to get her own way, I told myself. But I knew, as I turned back to the shelves, that it'd stay with me longer than a few moments.

Jen POV

My feet took me out of the main room into my bedroom, but my mind was still in those four seconds. Four seconds that I knew was his way of getting back at me for flirting with him, but he trumped me, fair and simple. If only it meant more than that.

That kiss, as short and intense as it was, outshined every kiss I'd ever received in my life. I thought with my past boyfriends that I'd experienced love and lust and fulfillment, but now I see I was wrong.

Oh, damn, I thought, as I lifted one of my boxes onto my bed. Maybe moving in here wasn't such a good idea, after all. I don't think I can be just friends with this man. Not anymore.

**A/N Ahh, finally. Trying to figure out a way to force these two from "friends" to "lovers" isn't the easiest thing in the world, as they're both stubborn.**

**BTW, did you catch my shoutout to one of my other favorite shows? lol**


	7. Chapter 7

**Stu POV**

I seriously did not expect this. Let's just say Auggie has a persuasive way of talking, and by the time we got to the counter at Starbucks, he was leaning against the counter and shooting Jen that signature grin. I only hoped he didn't embarrass me too much.

My relationship with my roomie was still at a "will it happen or won't it" stage. Her flirting and my completely spontaneous kiss pretty much threw us over the line of staying friends. But then, it's what I'd imagined happening with us in the first place, that day I handed her my number. That was two weeks ago, and if my original intentions had bore out, we would have kissed by now, right? Probably a few times.

So why am I still reliving it? A small voice in me knew why, but I tried not to listen to it as it told me it was because she was so close. She knows what type of shampoo I use, for God's sake. The forced closeness pretty much tore away all the mystery.

"Hey, guys," she said in greeting. "The usual for both of you?"

"Yes, if you wouldn't mind," Auggie replied. "I'd also like to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?" she said while she started our order. I tried to catch her eyes with mine and evoke an unspoken apology, but she was focused on her work.

"We've got a tradition of sorts, drinks at Allen's Tavern after a long, hard day. I asked Stu if you'd like to come, but he said he couldn't speak for you, and so, here we are," Auggie said, sweeping his arms wide open.

"Okay, sounds like fun. Who am I to stand in the way of tradition?"

And she wasn't, apparently, as approximately nine hours later, we were walking from our apartment to the bar. I wore the same outfit, leaving my suit jacket and tie behind. As Jen wore a uniform to work, she changed out into skinny jeans and a silky tank. I could have told her that the crowd was pretty laidback, and she didn't need to fuss too much with appearances, but once I saw her come out of her bedroom in that outfit, I decided to let it go.

"So, who all's going to be there?" Jen asked.

"Nobody you haven't met before, just the crowd from our office," I replied. "Auggie, of course, and Annie, and then the rest of the tech guys and a few other officers."

"Am I dressed okay for it?"

I chuckled at her question, as she's asked it twice already. "You look beautiful, Jen."

I wasn't lying or trying to placate her, but a glance to my right showed that my words brought a blush to her cheeks. Did she really not know how good-looking she was? Especially in that top, whose hue matched her eyes.

"Do they know?"

"Know what?"

"About us, being roommates, or do you think –"

"I think you think too much," I said, dropping my arm around her shoulders. "If you want, I can introduce you as a friend."

Yeah, I know, the word "friend" stuck in my throat as I said it, but Jen seemed so apprehensive and almost frightened, I just wanted to calm her down. Once she got there and saw how laidback everyone was outside of the office, she'll be fine.

The tavern was just up ahead, and I pointed it out to her. "Ready to go in?"

**Jen POV**

Oh, yeah, I was more than ready. My nervousness for the new situation coupled with the delicious thrill of Stu's arm on my back and hand on my shoulder. I'd only turned 21 this year, and my drinking history was spotty, to say the least. But I could use a drink now, if only to settle my nerves.

His arm dropped off of my shoulder as he opened the door for me, and I missed it immediately. But hey, if he wanted to present us as "just friends," I guess PDA was off the table. He walked us through the maze of tables and young men and women to the back, which is where I guess their "table" was. I took the time to look around and take in the sights. The crowd seemed to be mainly my age, and I figured it was half an agency haunt and half a place where coeds went to get plastered.

I'd have to remember this place for future nights out. A few seconds before we got to the table, I hear someone call out Stu's name, and he raised an arm to acknowledge them. Then a blonde head poked up from the crowd, and I recognized Annie waving us forward.

"Jen, you made it!" she said, coming around to give me a hug. Whoa, that was a bit odd. I'd only just met the woman, but I didn't want to embarrass Stu, so I accepted it with a smile.

"How could I resist such a charming invitation?" I said, sitting down in the chair she offered next to her. Stu sat on my other side, and yeah, I did notice that he scooted the chair a few inches closer to mine. Just friends, huh, I thought with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, Stu can be quite the charmer when he wants to be," she replied, giving me a wink.

"Actually, Auggie was the one who asked me," I said, nodding to the man sitting on the other side of Annie.

Stu chimed in then, "And before you ask, I didn't want to presume to answer for Jen, so Auggie jumped up and ran to Starbucks this morning."

"Hey, I did not run, and you were on my heels the entire way," Auggie corrected, pointing his beer across the table.

Annie shook her head at the boys' antics, and I was close to laughing out loud, too, but bit my lip. A mug of beer was pressed into my hands by Annie, followed by one for Stu, as well.

"Thanks," I said. "I'm not much of a drinker, you know."

"Why didn't you say something?" Stu asked, leaning down towards me. "Want me to get you a water or a juice?"

"I'm good with this," I said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Besides, we can walk home, so feel free to drink however much you usually do."

He didn't look too convinced, so I raised my mug and clinked it against his before taking a swallow. The beer was much smoother than what I remembered from my college days, and I nodded approvingly to Annie.

She returned my smile and leaned on the table, "So Jen, Stu hasn't told us much about you."

"Well, what do you want to know?" I asked.

"Though you do an amazing job of keeping us all caffeinated, I take it Starbucks isn't your first career choice?"

I laughed at the thought and took another mouthful of my beer before speaking. "You're right, it's not. I'm a student at Georgetown – well, was as of a few months ago. I've got one more year to go and hope to earn enough money within the next six months or so to swing it."

"Good for you," Auggie said. "I've always wondered, though, about baristas at our Starbucks. The security clearances just to make us coffee?"

I laughed, remembering my interview and the surprise on the manager's face when I told him I had all my paperwork ready to go. "Well, I should explain that I'm studying government at Georgetown and got my security clearances last year, ready to enter the workforce when I graduated. Then, of course –"

**Stu POV**

I watched with a growing admiration as Jen laughed and talked with Annie and Auggie. Her bubbly, cheerful personality, no matter what the situation, is what drew me to her in the first place, and I still had a hard time believing she was here, with me. Hell, I still had a hard time believing she was living with me, and that we kissed not too long ago.

She drank her beer like a pro, even given her "not much of a drinker" status. I grabbed the pitcher and refilled hers and mine and excused myself to refill it. The crowd was starting to really fill in, and it took me longer than normal to reach the bar and grab the bartender's attention. By the time I made it back towards the table, I could see the rest of our crowd had filtered in, and surprise, surprise, Barber was sitting in my seat. The jerk didn't even have the common courtesy to scoot it back to its normal position, and his proximity to Jen rankled my possessive side.

I set the full pitcher on the table, leaning in between the two, and looked down at Barber. "You're in my seat."

"Really?" he smirked up at me.

"Excuse me," Jen piped in, "Stu was sitting there, so if you wouldn't mind?"

I cocked an eyebrow at him, daring him to pick a fight, but thankfully, he backed off and stood. There were no other seats at the table, so he wandered off. I didn't bother to check where. I sat down, and before I could grab my mug, Jen leaned in.

"What took you so long? I swear, that guy was wearing so much cheap cologne, I was about to pass out from the fumes," she whispered in my ear.

I laughed aloud and whispered back, "The place is getting packed. Sorry you had to endure that."

"It's okay," she said, "You're here now."

And with that, she reached over and squeezed my knee under the table. It took me so by surprise, my mouth dropped open, and I froze in my seat. She removed it soon enough and reached for the pitcher I'd deposited on the table. It was then I realized she'd already downed the second mug I'd poured for her and was well on her way to her third.

I'd say something about it, but how did I do that without sounding like a nagging big brother? Maybe her excuse of not being a big drinker meant that she hadn't done it recently, and she knew what she was doing?

Unfortunately, I learned a few hours later when we were on our way back to the apartment, that my first thought was correct. Jen really didn't drink all that much, and even though we all slowed down as the night wore on, I counted six mugs of beer and three shots that Auggie insisted on buying everyone.

I'd drank almost as much, but Jen was about half my size, and I'm sure her tolerance wasn't all that high. And the way she was hanging onto me as we walked – her arm around my waist and her head on my shoulder – showed me that she was more than a little drunk.

We made it to the apartment, and I breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't pass out on me. Her weight was becoming heavier and heavier as we made it down the hall. I fished my keys out of my pocket with one hand while holding her up with the other, and we shuffled into the apartment.

I turned slightly to shut it and slide the lock home, and that's when she moved. At first, I just thought she was trying to push off me to stand upright, but she turned to face me, and before I knew it, her hands slid up my chest, and she pushed up on her toes so that we were face-to-face.

"Jen, what are you –"

The final word of my question was swallowed by her lips pressing against mine. Had I been sober and with all my faculties intact, I'm pretty sure I would have stopped this at one kiss, but I wasn't sober. I was nearly as drunk as she was, and her soft, lovely weight pressing me against the hardness of the door was too much for me to fight against.

I kissed her back, the alcohol on both of our breaths mingled to an almost heady mixture, and I wrapped my arms around her, lifting her so that she didn't have to strain so hard. She responded by wrapping her arms around my shoulders and, in a move that I didn't have time to decipher at the moment, climbed me so that her legs were around my hips.

My arms automatically went lower to hold her weight up, and the tightness of her jeans over her butt and thighs spurred me on. With the last of my strength, I launched us off of the door and headed straight to my bedroom.

* * *

><p><strong>AN I haven't given up on Turn Left. Just didn't want to leave these two hanging in limbo. Thanks for reading. Please review. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Jen POV**

Ugh, what the hell, I thought as wakefulness invaded my dreams, where I was warm and happy and running on a beach. I was still warm, but my head felt twice its weight. As such, I kept perfectly still until I figured out what was going on. Breathe in, breathe out.

I did that for a few minutes until I was fully awake. Only then did I open my eyes. Wrong color, I thought. Instead of seeing my normal white pillowcases nestled under my cheek, they were a rich brown. Had I fallen asleep on the couch? No, the couch was black, and as far as I remember, with red pillows. The only place in the apartment with rich brown fabric, that I remember, was –

Oh, God. Why was I in Stu's bed? I tried to move, but my heavy head made it almost impossible. Plus, the darker brown comforter seemed to be wrapped around my legs. Oh, no. My legs were bare, and moving a little to gain some wiggle room in the voluminous comforter, the rest of my body was, as well.

I was naked. In Stu's bed. Images of my roommate began to filter into my mind, seeping through the fuzz of my hangover. I remembered walking with him to meet his friends from work at a bar down the street. Talking with Annie and Auggie, having a great time. Barber trying to flirt with me. An involuntary shudder coursed through me at the memory.

But then Stu came back and sat next to me, feeding me mugs of beer. Auggie insisted on introducing me to his favorite liquor in the form of a couple of shots. Specific memories began to fade from then on, but I couldn't help but lay there and watch them like a slideshow in my mind.

Stu whispering in my ear. Us walking home. Me curling into his strength. And then, as we got home – my face colored with the memory. I got drunk and seduced my roommate. My sweet, cute, sexy roommate. My legs rubbed against each other, and I felt deliciously tender.

Well, I thought, there was no going back now. I only hoped he didn't hate me too much. Last night was completely unintended, but obviously, the alcohol loosened enough of both of our inhibitions to let our baser desires to take over.

If nothing else, our coming together settled the question of whether or not we would remain just friends, or eventually cross that line. Taking another deep breath, bracing myself against the heaviness of my head, I slowly began to turn around to see if he was still in bed here with me.

Yep, there he was, lying on his stomach beside me. His eyes were closed, and the comforter had slid down to his waist. A sliver of sunlight lit up the room, and I drank in the beauty of his face.

I couldn't help myself, and my hand snaked out to smooth across his bare shoulder.

**Stu POV**

A tickle across my bare back dragged me out of my deep, dreamless sleep. No, I don't want to wake up yet, I thought. I haven't slept so well in weeks. Why was I waking up now? With a groan, I took a deep breath and risked opening an eye.

The sight before me stole that breath away from me. Jen, lying in my bed, obviously naked with the way she held the comforter across her ample chest, and smiling at me.

"Jen."

"Morning, sleepyhead," she whispered, her hand sliding across my shoulder.

"What –" I tried to lift my head, but yeah, that wasn't the best idea in the world right now. I cleared my throat of its dryness and tried again. "What happened? Why are you here? Why – we're both naked," I corrected, as my body began to stir.

"You don't remember?"

Remember what, I thought. And then the images came, hard and fast, bubbling up through my wakening consciousness. Going out last night, walking home, and then – "You kissed me."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Her eyes went wide at my question, and then she started laughing. It was a beautiful sound, no doubt, but my confusion only grew. Why was she laughing that she had kissed me? I tried to move, but given her stranglehold on the comforter, and the remaining third of it covering me, modesty kept me in the position I was in now.

And, as I took in her rumpled hair and fuller lips, her nakedness, my nakedness, and a bed that smelled – "Oh, wow. We had sex, didn't we?"

Her laughter had died down, and she smiled sweetly at me, cuddling up into my side. "Yes, Stu. I admit, the details are fuzzy for me, too, but the fact remains that we did have sex. In your bed. Last night."

"I'm sorry."

**Jen POV**

I should've been insulted by those two words, but instead, it made me smile. Stu embodied everything my previous boyfriends were lacking, and I placed a hand on his cheek.

"Don't be. I have no regrets. I only wish I remembered more of it."

That brought a smile to his face, and I returned it.

"You don't regret any of it, do you? It's okay if you do. We can go back to being roommates, but –"

"No, I don't regret it," he interrupted me. "There's no way we can go back, not now."

I smiled and leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. "I don't know about you, but I could use some coffee," I said.

"Mm, and some Tylenol, if your head feels anything like mine," he said.

Neither one of us moved, though, and I realized that, with both of us wearing our birthday suits under the comforter, one of us would have to bare it all. "May I have the blanket?" I whispered in the sexiest voice I could muster. It did the trick, and he nodded wordlessly.

I threw him a wink and slid across the bed, taking the blanket with me and enjoying the view of his body as it came fully into view. I ogled it for a few seconds before turning and heading out of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review. There's only a handful of you reading, so pretty please, with sugar on top?<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Jen POV**

I stared at the coffeepot, trying to mentally will it to work faster. As I watched the steady flow of brown liquid into the carafe, my mind wandered, and it took me inexpicably to the events of last night. While dressing, I downed a couple Tylenol with a large glass of water, and as the hangover began to ease, my hazy memory began to clear.

Or at least the events were coalescing into a more streamlined fashion. I kissed Stu as soon as we got into the apartment, and the only motive I could remember thinking at the time was that I'd simply wanted to. I'd also expected, I remembered, that he'd accept it, and we'd go to sleep. But he didn't. He kissed me back, and the instantaneous ignition of passion and lust I'd felt – there wasn't enough alcohol in the world to make me forget that.

By that time, I remembered, my body had switched to auto pilot, and I couldn't get close enough to him. He wasn't pushing me away, either, and our actions had been frantic and hot and –

"Coffee done yet?"

I jumped, caught like a kid with my hand in the cookie jar. Only this time my mind was caught, and as I turned to him, I could feel the blush spread up my chest to my cheeks. God, couldn't he at least have put on a shirt? His thin, taut build now a few feet away, only brought more memories to mind of last night.

"Jen?"

His voice brought my eyes up from the line on his hips where his pants hung loose to his face. When we both woke up, it was easy and sweet with the remembered intimacy. Now, though, the truth and reality of what'd happened flared between us, and though his eyes were still warm, and a smile lit his face, worries began to well up in me.

"Yeah?" I whispered. It was all I could squeak out.

"Coffee."

Oh, right. I was making coffee. I turned back to the machine and saw that it had ceased brewing. Grateful for a distraction, I pulled down our two mugs and proceeded to make our drinks.

**Stu POV**

Throughout my shower, dressing and hunt down for some painkillers for my hangover, I thought through what'd transpired over the past 12 hours. I had absolutely no regrets. That much was certain. But the timing of it all and the fact that it took us both being nearly falldown drunk made me wonder – where were we now?

The smell of coffee wafted down the hallway, so I decided to bite the bullet and test the waters. As I rounded the corner, she stood there at the kitchen counter, staring at the coffeepot as if it held all the secrets of the world. She looked as beautiful as ever, and I realized right then there was no going back. I'd never want to be "just friends" with this girl.

While she made our coffee, I grabbed some bread. Toast was about all my stomach could handle right now. Beyond her blush on seeing me and the few words she'd mumbled, I hadn't yet gauged her reaction from last night. I waited for the bread to pop back up and watched as she took her mug and went over to the table by the window and sat down. Well, no time like the present.

"So, I guess we should instate that romance clause of our roommate agreement," I said.

Oops, maybe I should have waited until she'd swallowed the mouthful of coffee she'd just sipped. As such, coffee spurted across the table, and she began coughing and waving her hand in front of her mouth.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Jen," I said, grabbing a towel and heading over to her. Pushing her flailing arms down, I mopped the coffee off of her face and chin. She continued to cough, so I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, opened it and handed it to her.

I remained crouched next to her as she took a drink of the cold water. "Okay now?"

She nodded frantically, causing her hair to fly out around her face. I gently tucked it back behind her ear. "So, is the coffee really that hot, or did my question throw you a bit?"

"Both, kind of. I wasn't sure how you'd feel now, you know, in the cold light of day," she said, meeting my eyes that were about on level with hers.

"How I feel now isn't any different than how I felt when you moved in," I said honestly. "I'm willing to let you decide what happens now, but seriously, Jen, I can't see us going back to being just friends now."

"Neither can I," she said. "But, do you think we can back this up a bit? I loved last night, and I guess all that alcohol just lowered our inhibitions, but I'm not really like that, Stu. I can't promise you –"

"Shh," I said, pressing my fingers up to her lips. "Don't. Last night happened. I don't regret it. But since both of us are still here, and nobody's mad or in tears, let's just start over, okay?"

She nodded against my lips, and it completely filled me with happiness. I had a thread of fear that she wanted to move out or say she didn't want to ever touch me again, but she didn't. And, before she could change her mind, I replaced my finger with my lips, giving her a quick kiss before retrieving my toast and coffee and taking a seat across the table from her. She'd since cleaned up her spit-out coffee, and we looked like any other couple glowing in the "morning after."

**Jen POV**

See, it's just not fair that he knew just what to say, you know? I could talk and flirt and bat my eyes at him, but when it came down to it, I was just this young college student who only had a few boyfriends, none of which I lived with. The most I ever got was breakfast the morning after on a couple of occasions.

While he ate his toast, I pulled my foot up on my chair and sipped my coffee – being careful not to spit it across the table at him. I doubt he'd find that sexy a second time. Over the rim of my mug, I watched him. He'd never gone shirtless around the apartment before, and I was enjoying the view. Last night, we were both too busy with our activity to ogle.

After a few minutes, he seemed to catch on to what I was doing, as he lifted an eyebrow at me, set down his coffee mug and fake nonchalantly stretched. I'd take it as real, but his eyes never left mine. It caused me to crack up laughing, and thankfully, I wasn't holding onto my coffee at the time.

It did one good thing, though, as the tension in the room snapped. He resumed his breakfast, a smile on his face, and – "Oh, are you blushing, Stu?"

"No, this coffee's really hot," he said.

"You're such a bad liar," I scoffed.

"Not really. Just never really been in this situation before, if you haven't noticed."

"You've never had a girl stare at your bare chest before?" I asked.

"I usually don't go bare-chested in mixed company, so no," he said.

That statement raised more questions than it answered, so I said, "Would it be weird if I thought we should tell each other our, umm, histories?"

"Our umm histories?" he countered. "If what you're asking is how many women I've been with, I'll tell if you tell."

"Of course I'll tell, Stu," I said, rolling my eyes. "You want me to go first?"

He nodded, and I said quickly, "Three."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why? Is that too many? Or too little?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. I just expected someone as beautiful and vivacious as you to have guys falling at your feet."

It was my turn to shrug, "Well, guys flirted, but it never went any further than that. What about you? Don't tell me that smile didn't bring a girl or two jumping your bones."

"Nope, just the one last night," he teased, and I threw the kitchen towel at his head.

"I may not remember every detail of last night," I countered, "but I do remember someone picking me up and carrying me to his bed."

"Semantics," he said, laying aside the towel. "But seriously, I've had three, as well."

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. He responded by rolling his eyes at me now, and I said, "Sorry, sorry. So, we're on an even keel here. Pretty cool, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but if you don't mind, a couple more questions?"

"Like what?" I asked, wondering what could he possibly need to know that he didn't already.

"Is this your first time living with a guy?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"How about you? Ever lived with a girl before?" I asked.

"Nope. Never lived with anyone before. Even in college. I liked my privacy."

Ohh, that was an interesting answer, and one that I refused to let just sit there. "So, what am I doing here?"

**Stu POV**

Damn, and here I thought we were on even ground with the banter, but her question pretty much put it all out there. Why did I, Stu Heatherton, a man who, decided to enjoy the silence and embrace solitary living after living with his large family for 18 years, ask a woman he'd just met, really, to move in with him? The answer wasn't in my cooling cup of coffee, so I risked a look in her direction. And the answer was right there. "You're here because I wasn't ready to say good-bye to you yet," I answered honestly. "And you're here because, if I may say, you don't want to say good-bye to me, either."

She shook her head, "I don't. I'm not sure I ever want to now."

"Then it's a good thing we get along so well, isn't it?" I asked.

She nodded, and right then and there, I knew we were all right.

* * *

><p><strong>AN I seriously cannot let go of these two. They're so darned cute together. And now that the night of passion and morning after have settled nicely, I'm wondering where to take these two. It's pretty open-ended, so really, anything goes. I think it's time to bring Annie and Auggie into the mix again. :)**

**Please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N The new twist/angle/tone of this story is courtesy of wondrous reader/writer Gwynne G, who in a recent review, gave me such a spurt of inspiration, I'm forever in her debt. Enjoy!**

**Stu POV**

It's never good when your boss calls you into her office first thing Monday morning, especially when the request comes with no explanation or reason. A quick think back over the past few weeks told me that I'd done nothing that could be perceived as wrong, so maybe I wasn't in trouble.

Only one way to find out, I thought, as I knocked on her door. As soon as I heard her shouting for me to enter, I did so.

"Stu, please, have a seat."

Once I did, she continued to speak.

"A few weeks ago, you submitted paperwork about your new roommate, correct?"

"Yes, Jen. She works in the building, at the Starbucks," I said. My nerves began to be on alert immediately, but I strived not to show it.

"So, you're close to her, or is it just acquaintances?"

Interesting question, I thought. The agency really had no legal say-so in who I slept with, so I kept my answer truthful without giving too much detail. There's only so much I'd give away to my boss, no matter what. "We are very good friends."

"She may need a friend once all this comes out," Joan said. "An ex-boyfriend of hers has been added to the terrorist watch list. We need to talk to her, and I will, but given your closeness, I'm telling you, first, out of a courtesy."

It took me a couple of seconds to process everything Joan just told me, and it didn't make much sense, except for the last part. "I'm sorry, what do you mean by courtesy?"

"Annie's bringing her in now."

"What?" I shouted, nearly jumping out of my chair.

"Settle down, Stu," Joan admonished. "We don't suspect her of anything, but you know that everything needs to be checked out."

Before I could say anything, or maybe ask to speak to Jen first, a knock sounded at the door. I stood, ready to whisk my girl out of there at the first hint of them attempting to bully her.

**Jen POV**

I couldn't believe that I was about to walk into Joan Campbell's office. Her legacy, and that of her husband, was legendary in the building. As the local caffeine purveyor, I'd heard so much gossip about those two, I think I knew them better than anyone. I'd never met her before, though, or her husband. They had people get coffee for them.

Annie opened the door, and I followed her in, Auggie coming in behind me. To my relief, Stu stood there, tall, handsome. His presence soothed the little bit of apprehension I was feeling. I wasn't really worried, as I couldn't think of a single thing that Joan would want to talk to me about.

"Miss Shaw, it's a pleasure to meet you. As you may or may not know, I am Joan Campbell. I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, so I'll get to the point. You have significant security clearance, and you're only couple dozen credits away from a degree in Government Studies and Computer Science at Georgetown. Your grades are impressive, to say the least."

Having a virtual stranger repeat my recent history back to me made my anxiety slide up a couple more notches. I nodded as her eyes met mine, "Yes, all that's true, ma'am. Upon receiving my degree, I hope to do the kind of terrific work you all do here."

"Commendable," she replied, "and I'm sure you'll make a great asset anywhere you plan to go. Your career plans, however, are not the reason I asked to see you. Does the name Javier Torres mean anything to you?"

Javier? Was she serious? I half-laughed, "Yes, but I'm sure you know that already, given how you know everything else about me." No one else shared my laughter, though, and a quick glance over at Stu showed that no one other than Joan and myself knew who he was. "Javier Torres spent a couple of semesters in the States during my sophomore year, and we dated for a while." I knew I was glossing over a lot of the details, and given the almost hurt look on Stu's face, I knew the only one getting a more detailed explanation would be him, later tonight.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," Joan said, "but Javier Torres' name has been added to the terrorist watch list, and a routine check of him through our system brought your name up, as you listed him as an acquaintance of yours on your security clearance papers."

She stopped talking, and I so wanted her to keep on, to tell me it was a joke, that although it wasn't April 1st, they were playing a prank on me. But no, she didn't, and a glance around the room at the others' faces showed they weren't kidding, either.

Annie and Auggie both looked supportive, but serious. Stu, however, looked almost as upset as I was. Unbidden, the memories of my time with Javier filtered through my head. He was so sweet, a young man from Spain who spoke with such a great accent and was so loving. "No, it can't be," I whispered. "He was – he couldn't do anything like that. You must be wrong."

My eyesight was threatening to blur with tears, and I felt a hand grab mine and lead me to a chair. I let myself sit down, which was a good thing because my knees were becoming weak. I looked over to see that it was Stu sitting close next to me, holding my hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded, grateful for his strength and concern. It gave me courage, and never letting go of his hand, I looked back up to Joan, "Are you sure it's the same man?"

"Yes, this isn't just a hunch. It's been verified and all the information double-checked for accuracy."

I nodded, the weight of what she was telling me becoming apparent. They were trying to let me down easy, and Joan gathered my in-house friends for support before telling me my security clearance was probably now void, and I'd have to quit my job here and find someplace else to work.

That fact saddened me, but then, wait, did that mean I'd have to stop being with Stu? I couldn't imagine that now, especially with him holding my hand and sitting so close. The mere thought of that held way too much emotion, and I pushed it away. Now was not the place for that.

I reined in my upheaval of feelings and said, "Guess I should pack up my stuff and go, then, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" Joan asked.

"Isn't that what you're trying to tell me?" I asked. "That all this means I can't work in government? My security clearance has been compromised, and –"

"No, no," Joan said, raising her hand to stop me talking. "Quite the contrary. All of our intel shows that you had nothing but a personal connection with this man, and his misdeeds started when he returned home to his country."

"Oh, then why –"

"Let me finish."

I could tell my rambling and almost sobbing voice was annoying the director, and I nodded, pulling myself together. I could feel Stu's hand begin to release mine, but I held on tight.

"I've talked to both Annie and Auggie," Joan continued, "and they believe that you'll be able to do what I'm about to ask you.

We want Javier, or at least, we want him to give us more information about his dealings. And we want you to help us get him."

I gasped, not able to hold it back. "What? You want me to do what?"

"I understand, he was a boyfriend of yours, and you probably still have some feelings –"

"No, no, I'm sorry for interrupting," I said, "but Javier and I were a long time ago, and -" I risked a quick glance at Stu. "I've gotten over him, beyond him. And if what you say is true, he's a terrorist, I have nothing but contempt for him now. What I'm asking is, you want me to go out there, undercover, to catch him?"

Joan's eyes widened at my question, and then she smiled. "Unfortunately, no, I can't just let you out there. You have no official credentials or any training at all to do so. What you'll be to us is something of a consultant, giving us information and helping throughout the process. I take it your passport is up to date?"

My emotions were on such a rollercoaster, that I was now on the verge of hyperventilating. A squeeze on my hand brought me back to the present, and I swallowed before answering.

"Yes, it is. I'd love to be able to help you catch Javier."

* * *

><p><strong>AN Again, thanks to Gwynne G. for inspiring me. I've got the rest of this story summary'd out, and I can't wait to finish! Please review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Jen POV**

I couldn't quite believe I was here. Only a few days ago, Joan had given me the news about Javier, and here I was, in Madrid, watching him and Annie talk and flirt at an outdoor café. It still marveled me how she was able to find and engage with him in 24 hours. I remember it took a whole week of us exchanging smiles and nods across campus before he got up the nerve to talk to me.

But then I remembered what I'd read in the mission brief, and my memory of our time together faded again to the back of my mind. It seemed Javier was sent to America, DC, specifically, not only to garner an elite American education, but also to gather intel about government workings and relay them back home. I'd asked Annie about Spain not really being known as a nation of terrorists, but Annie told med they were everywhere. It's not just about big groups whose main goal was to have everyone in the world know about them. They could be as small as a dozen, and the smaller ones, in her opinion, were more dangerous.

My musings and memories about my and Javier's time together was broken by Auggie's voice in my earwig. We all wore one, but I still wasn't used to it. I pulled my attention back to the scene in front of me and Stu. We sat in a unremarkable rental car in sight of the café, and I saw that Annie now sat there alone.

"I'm in, guys. Javier's settling up the bill and using the facilities, then we're going back to his place."

"Understood," Auggie replied. "Jen, anything Annie should know about this guy once they're out of the public eye?"

"Auggie, Javier was nothing but a gentleman to me the entire time. It's what drew me to him in the first place," I said. "Annie, just let him be all chivalrous. It's what he expects and what'll make him more at ease."

"Understood," Annie replied. "Auggie, you sure my phone's still good to hijack into Javier's systems?"

"Yep. Remember your first op? Just set it down next to whatever equipment you find, computer, laptop, cellphone, iPad, and I'm in."

Annie nodded as Javier came back to the table, and then led her away to his car. Stu followed, and I sat back in my seat, indulging in a bit of sightseeing as we wound through the streets to Javier's palce.

"So, all it takes for a guy to get you to notice him is to be a gentleman?"

"Hmm?" I asked, turning to Stu.

"All a guy's gotta do is be a gentleman to get you to notice him?" he repeated.

I wondered if he was asking out of jealousy or just teasing me. Either way, we were alone, in a foreign city, and there was no need for subterfuge now. "No, for a guy to get me to notice him, he's gotta be tall, have dark hair and eyes, a killer smile, and look completely adorable when he shyly asks me for his phone number."

I'd reached my hand over as I spoke, but before it touched Stu's cheek, my earwig crackled, and Auggie's voice sounded harshly in my ear.

"That's all very well, but I can hear you, you know. Please keep the sweet nothings for bedtime."

He sounded pretty terse, and though it might have been because he caught me and Stu flirting, I had a feeling it was more because of the fact that Annie was driving away in a car with a known terrorist.

"Auggie, Annie's perfectly safe. Javier loves women, and despite all the bad stuff he's doing now, I doubt he'd mistreat her. And if not, Stu and I will be right outside."

Auggie mumbled his thanks, and with an audible click, I realized he'd switched over completely to Annie's signal and couldn't hear us anymore. "Stu, I hate to gossip about friends, but what's up with Annie and Auggie? I thought they were just friends."

Stu shrugged, "Who knows? They're both trained spies, and therefore, professional liars. If they are together, no one will know unless they tell them."

I sighed and looked out the window again. "It's a shame. We're here, in this beautiful place, and can't take advantage of it."

"We'll come back," he said, and I felt his hand reach for mine and squeeze it.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, I was close to dozing in our rental car. The lovely heat of the city plus Stu's company had me almost enjoying myself. Unfortunately, our "date" had unofficial chaperones of Auggie, Annie and Javier, but hey, a girl can pretend, can't she?<p>

"Okay, guys, he's asleep. Finally. Auggie, did you get enough information? I'd like to leave now."

I chuckled – noiselessly, of course – at the tone in Annie's voice. Javier tried everything he could to get her into his bed tonight, and thankfully Annie was able to talk him into having a drink or two with her prior. A drink that, courtesy of some powder, rendered him overly sleepy.

Thank God he hadn't insisted on bringing me with him when he left for home at the end of my sophomore year. Even if he was faithful and loving to me, if he was willing to jump in the sack with a woman he'd known for a day, I'd be coming back home to the States upset and alone, and probably swearing off men completely.

Annie left the house and walked up to our car, climbing in the back. "Not sure what your definition of a gentleman is, Jen," she said with a laugh. "Last I knew, they didn't have the arms of an octopus."

"All I can tell you, Annie, is that he wasn't like that with me," I replied. "I'd so love to talk to him, ask what happened."

"No, you don't," Stu said quickly as he pulled out into traffic on the way back to our hotel. "What good come of it?"

"Nothing, I know," I said. "But it's just hard to comprehend."

Annie leaned up from the back seat. "Let me give you some advice someone told me when I first got here. Some people you think are friends turn out to be jerks, and vice versa. It's the worst part of our jobs. We see the dark side of people, every day. That's why, when you find someone you do trust, hold onto them with all your might."

"So you remembered that, huh?" Auggie piped up in all of our earwigs.

I'd forgotten we still had them in, or that Auggie was still listening. Following Stu's movements, I removed mine and let Auggie and Annie have a private conversation. Well, as private as could be, given we could still hear Annie's side of things.

We got to the hotel, and though Annie and I shared a room, with Stu on his own, he pulled me into his room and shut the door. I didn't mind too much, as I'd planned on sneaking over there later, anyway.

"So," he said as he shut the door behind us, "all this excitement put you off your dreams to work in government?"

I sat down on the bed. "No, why do you say that?"

He shrugged before joining me, "You seemed upset before."

"Just a shock, you know. Javier was a really great guy. Too bad his life has come to this."

"What would've happened if Annie let you go talk to him?"

Okay, now that was unexpected, but the look in his eyes and the way his fingers tangled in themselves told me what was going on. It's a good thing he works behind the scenes, I thought, as his face and especially his eyes were so expressive. He needed to know.

"I would have asked what happened to him, is all. And, if he thought I'd come all this way just to see him, I'd say no, I hadn't, and that I was involved with someone."

"Really?"

I took hold of his hands and unraveled his fingers, folding mine in his, instead. "Stu, come on. You've gotta know by now."

"Know what?"

"It's only been a couple of months, don't you think it's too soon?"

"Too soon for what?"

He's doing it again, I thought. Drawing me in with his words and sincerity shining out of his dark brown eyes. And since I'd yet to find a successful defense against him, and here we were in this gorgeous city, with an open night ahead of us before we fly home tomorrow, I thought, why not?

"Too soon for me to tell you how I feel about you," I replied.

**Stu POV**

Why was she so hesitant, I thought, especially when I can see it, the love shining in her eyes. She looked so beautiful like that. Then, with that thought, it came to me that I was the reason for that look. It shook and humbled me to the core. I had no words, truly, for the feelings that surged through me. I so wished they we weren't on an op, but hey, gotta take life as it comes, right? And, by my calculation, we had 12 hours.

I kissed her, hard and fast, putting as much of my feelings into it. Then I told her to wait, and I'd be right back.

I knocked on Annie's door, and what do you know, she was on the phone. With Auggie, no less, whom she told to hang on for a minute.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you don't need us for anything else, do you?" I asked.

"No, Stu, we're good to go. You two have fun. And don't pass up this chance."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

And, with a move that I swear she copied from Auggie, she tilted her head to the side and said, "You love each other, right? She needs to know that. Don't waste time being scared to admit what you're feeling."

Damn, was I really that translucent? I smiled at her, though, and said, "Thanks, I will. And, uhh, I think you should take your own advice."

I didn't bother hanging around to see what her response to that would be, or Auggie's, 'cause I knew he heard me, as well. Jen's waiting for me, and though I promised to bring her back to this city in the future, op-less, of course, there's no way I'd pass up this opportunity. Though my tongue still wouldn't allow me to say the words that Annie urged me to, I could think of other ways to express to Jen how important she was to me.

* * *

><p>This meeting in Joan's office, unlike the meeting a week ago, had me much less apprehensive and much more full of admiration and pride for Jen, who sat in front of Joan's desk, a smile on her lovely face.<p>

"I am very impressed with the help you were able to give, Miss Shaw. Unfortunately, the CIA cannot recompense you for the time, as it would create an unneeded paper trail, and like everything we do, your role in this operation is strictly need to know. You cannot tell anyone."

Jen nodded her understanding.

"But we wouldn't have gotten this information without your help, and personally, I don't want another agency to scoop you up. Now, we've got contacts with Georgetown who are willing to reward you with 'life experience' credits towards your degree. By their calculation, you could attend one more full semester and receive your degree."

"Oh, wow, Director, I don't know how to thank you."

"Your thanks would be in acceptance, but I have one caveat. Should you accept these credits, you would also be accepting a job, here, upon graduation. I'm not doing this just to be nice. Your intellect and instincts are just what our department needs. I'll expect an answer tomorrow."

"Thank you, I'll think about it."

* * *

><p>Those words gave me an odd feeling that refused to go away throughout the day. It wasn't until Jen and I got back to the apartment that I couldn't stand it anymore and asked her about it.<p>

"So, you told Joan you'd think about it? Don't you want to come here?" I asked, as she prepared supper. "We could work together, I mean, after you go through training."

She stopped pulling ingredients out of the fridge and leaned across the island counter facing me. "I didn't want to appear overeager or anything," she said. "It was all such a shock. I knew what I wanted to do, but hadn't really thought of anything specific beyond getting my degree."

"So," I said, drawing one of her hands into mine, "I'll get to know what Auggie feels like, when Annie goes out in the field."

It took her half a minute to get my meaning, and then, "You mean they're –"

"I saw them by accident when we came back," I said. "Never seen him kiss an operative before when they returned home."

She squealed and jumped up and down, "Oh, that's so sweet. So happy for Annie."

"I'm happy for both of them. I just hope I can keep the same kind of cool Auggie exudes when you're out in the field, cuddling up with terrorists."

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "I loved being out there, but I've always thought of any work I'd do to be behind the scenes, you know. It's why I'm getting a minor in computer science, remember me telling you that?"

It clicked pretty quickly in my head what she was trying to say, but I couldn't help stringing her along. "So what are you saying, Jen?"

"What I'm saying is, once I get my degree, I will come back to you guys. So tell me, is Auggie a good boss?"

Yep, all the pieces now clicked into place, and I caught a clear glimpse of my future, with Jen by my side, at work and at home. "I love you, Jen."

Did I expect tears or squealing or any other girlish response? Not really.

"I love you, too, Stu."

And then, suddenly, she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked, slightly mortified and scared of her reaction.

She shook her head and held fast to my hands, "I've loved you for a while, Stu. I just didn't want to say anything until you did, 'cause what if I was wrong?"

Geez, that was a relief. But, her words brought up one more question. "When did you know?"

"Is it important?" she asked, batting those long lashes at me.

I recognized her delaying technique, but I refused to let her change the subject. "No. but tell me anyway."

"Okay. It started when Joan first told me about Javier."

"That was a week ago."

She sighed and then said, "That's when it started, but I had other things on my mind, as you know. Stu, you were sitting there with me, holding my hand in front of your boss and colleagues. You shouldn't have, it was pretty inappropriate, but you did it, anyway. You put aside your own needs and were there for me."

"And I always will be," I promised her, stretching across the counter to kiss her. "I can't imagine not having you in my life."

"And if I hadn't met you, I'd still be living with idiot roommates slinging drinks at Starbucks," she pointed out. "I'd probably end up moving back home and finishing my degree at a community college."

Supper had to wait for a couple of hours as we continued to – well, not too much talking was done in that time, but soon we acknowledged our "other" hunger and called in for some takeout.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Hurray! Another Stu story in the "completed" folder. Hope everyone enjoyed it. I loved writing it, though I had to stay up a bit later tonight to finalize, as I want to concentrate on Strangers on a Train…and…another story! Woo-hoo! This one's courtesy of call2worship, who's gifted me with such a great story idea, I couldn't pass it up.**

**Now that it's done, please, a word of review? Stu needs the lovin'.**


End file.
